The Sand Mountain Reporter | Officials praise Snead admin building renovation

Officials praise Snead admin building renovation
By Lionel Green | The Sand Mountain Reporter | September 19, 2012

Snead State President Robert Exley cut the ribbon on the renovated Administration Building during a ceremony in Fielder Auditorium on Tuesday.

About 375 people attended the open house event, including U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, Sen. Clay Scofield, Rep. Kerry Rich and Boaz Mayor Tim Walker.

Exley, Snead State Chief Academic Officer Jason Watts, and Phil Black of Krebs Architecture and Engineering in Birmingham spoke at the event.

Dean Argo of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education also attended and spoke on behalf of interim Chancellor Susan Price, who’s assisting with the transition of newly appointed state Chancellor Mark A. Heinrich.

“Had she been here today, she’d be amazed,” Argo said.

Dignitaries and guests complimented the college for preserving the building’s past in the present.

“Being someone who likes history, I’m glad they decided to try to restore it back to the way it originally looked,” Aderholt said. “Any time you can take an old historic building like that and restore it, it’s much better. I was most impressed that they had really done some quality work in that auditorium to make sure it’s not a temporary auditorium, but something that’ll be there for decades.”

Rich called the 92-year-old building “beautiful.”

“It’s new and modern, but it looks old,” he said. “I like that. I think Dr. Exley and all the people there have done an excellent job in coming up with a good master plan for the school that’ll be not only something good for the community and all of Northeast Alabama, but also good for the students.”

Jennifer Palmer, president of Albertville Chamber of Commerce, agreed.

“I’m most impressed that the character was still there,” said Palmer, a member of the Snead State Rededication Planning Committee. “I think that’s very important because of what Snead has meant to our community over the years. That building has just been a cornerstone, and they were able to maintain that character.”

The ribbon-cutting and open house came on the heels of a well-attended rededication service Sunday.

Snead State officials aren’t wasting any time in putting the building to good use as the college hosts the 40th annual Gerhart Chamber Music Festival on Thursday at 7 p.m. The concert in Fielder Auditorium is free and open to the public.

If you would like to view this article online, click here.